Microsoft Surface Pro gets UK release date and price

Microsoft has finally revealed the release date and price for its Microsoft Surface Pro Windows 8 tablet here in the UK.

The company has issued a press release revealing that the Microsoft Surface Pro will be arriving in UK shops on May 23. That's two and a half months after the initial US launch.

Prices for the 10.6-inch Windows 8 tablet will start from £719 for the 64GB model, while the 128GB version will set you back £799. When you take VAT into consideration, that's roughly equivalent to the original US pricing, which is good news for Brits.

Microsoft confirmed the ongoing availability of some key peripherals for the Surface range, including the Touch Cover (a protective cover with an integrated touch-sensitive keyboard) for £99 and the Type Cover (the same, but with physical keys) for £109.

The Microsoft Surface Pro comes with a 10.6-inch 1920 x 1080 touchscreen display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It's powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU with 4GB of RAM, which lifts it beyond the likes of the iPad and up into Ultrabook levels of performance.

In addition to the aforementioned 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, the Microsoft Surface Pro also has the luxury of a MicroSD card slot for memory expansion. Although, given that the full Windows 8 OS it runs takes up a whopping 40GB of internal storage, that might be seen as more of a necessity than a luxury.

Oh, and it'll also come with a stylus.

Our European neighbours can look forward to a Microsoft Surface Pro release a week later on May 30.